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How long does it take to recover after tonsillectomy?
Tonsillectomy recovery time is unique for each patient. The recovery timeline for children is much shorter than for adults, with seemingly less pain. My own eight year old son was back to his old self in less than a week after his tonsils taken out. This may have fanned the flames of my unreasonable expectations of my own recovery time as an adult. His was fairly typical of a child his age. Children’s bodies heal faster than adults’ do.
Tonsillectomy Recovery Time
What to expect after tonsil surgery
The timeline for recovery for an adult is a different story. Age matters. In fact, it appears that the older an adult is at the time of their tonsillectomy, the longer the recovery is, in general. Based on my own adult tonsillectomy recovery, and the stories of thousands of my readers, I’d put the average adult tonsillectomy recovery time at approximately 10.43 days. Yes, I’m that good!
Humor aside, ten days seems to be pretty typical. I added the .43 because so many people, myself included, thought they had it licked and went back to work around day ten, only to find they weren’t quite ready. As scabs slough off in second week of recovery, many adults experience a bit of a pain relapse, just as they thought they were almost recovered. This is a really tough period for many. They’ve spent almost two weeks with minimal sleep, minimal nourishment, minimal activity, and lots of pain medicine. It can be downright depressing for adults recovering in this second week.
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I do hear from many adults whose recovery times are closer to a week – perhaps due to my good advice, perhaps due to genetics. It’s hard to say why some adults’ recovery timelines are shorter, and their experiences less traumatic. There are also cases that drag out further. If you’re one of a small minority that requires re-cauterization for bleeding, or don’t take the proper precautions, (many of these are outlined here and in my book), your tonsillectomy recovery time may be as much as three or four weeks. I want to make an important point here- one that I cannot overemphasis: Stay hydrated! Keep drinking fluids! Dehydration is the worst enemy of the tonsillectomy patient.
My advice: ask your employer, your family, your friends, and the rest of the world to give you two weeks for your adult tonsillectomy. You may surprise them, hopefully for the better.
Recovery is unique to each individual- sure. We know that recovery time for adults is longer, and maybe harder, than for children. I remember my own son bouncing back in less than a week! My own experience taught me that ten days off from a job that required lots of talking was a bit light. I generally advise two weeks. As I’ve said, most employers will let you come back early. That’s easier than asking for more time after the fact. I’ve read the accounts of thousands of tonsillectomy patients- most of them adults. I’ve learned that the time required varies. I wonder though, how many tonsillectomy patients never really post about their experience.
Are you one of those quiet ones lying in the weeds? I’d like to get a better feel for the average adult tonsillectomy recovery time. Please take a moment and share your own experience in recovering from tonsillectomy surgery. You can help us all!I’ve put together a collection of items that I think would be helpful, if not essential, to making tonsillectomy recovery a little more pleasant. Check out the Tonsillectomy General Store.
-Greg Tooke My short bio
Hi all. Im a 30 year old female who has recently undergone the dreaded tonsillectomy on 12th December 16.
7 days in and I feel at breaking point.
The pain over the last couple of days has been the worst, yesterday in particular where I took myself back to A&E on 18th Dec as my Uvula (dangly bit in the back of your throat) had swollen so big in size I felt I was choking on it and was finding it harder to breath. Lucky me!!! apparently I have a slight infection even though I have been taking high strength antibiotics since my surgery (I don’t understand that). I was given a steroid shot and it brought the inflammation straight down and I was given another 7 days worth of antibiotics (I hate taking antibiotics)
Today the pain has been better. I only managed to eat a small bowl of cereal this morning but fluids seem to be going down ok still but dont get me wrong its still a struggle. Although now I have a burning sensation everytime something touches the operated area.
I think back to that glorious Monday 12th when I was laid up in hospital after my surgery (haha) when the consultant came to me and said…. ‘the pain will most likely not peak until 6-8 days and you will think to yourself why on earth you had this procedure’ at the time I sat there just nodding my head thinking yeah, yeah but he was totally right. It’s hell. Lack of eating, drinking and sleeping do not help with your mindset and I’m trying my best to keep calm but it has to be one of the top hardest things I’ve ever been through.
I’m currently listing in my head when I can swallow pain free again which type of drink i will down a pint of first. The top choice is water but a close second is something fizzy and naughty like coke. Then I’m gunna seek me out the best restaurant in town and gorge myself! Having this surgery does make you appreciate food and water a lot more.
So my question to all you lovely people who said they recovered from day 11, what does that mean? Does that mean you were pain free????
If so I’m counting down the days!!!!!!
Best wishes everyone! We’ll all get there 🙂
I’m a 29 yo female. as a child I did suffer from tonsillitis constantly but living in P.N.G. , my dad was not going to let them take them out there. Everytime we traveled to Australia to visit Family he would try have them removed the but no one wanted to do it. so years later i no longer suffered from tonsillitis but my large scarred tonsils started to form tonsil stones ( Tonsilloliths ). very smelly yellow balls that would pop out of my tonsils. If I didn’t clean them out, my tonsils would become inflamed and infected. the only real solution to rid myself of this was to have a tonsillectomy. Im on day 5 post surgery and I honestly don”t feel any better. the pain is horrible. I Cant eat or Drink much and my vomiting caused a small bleed. I’m at a point where I wish I hadn’t gone through with it. I came here to read about other recovery stories but I guess everyone is different. I was aiming to head back to work on day 9 but I think im gonna have to call up the boss and say no can do.
Hang in there Talei! Btw, where is P.N.G.?
Thank you for sharing – I had mine removed for the same reason (swollen tonsils/tonsil stone issues).. I’ve also learned that swollen tonsils can be a leading cause in sleep apnea later in life if it goes untreated.
Hi my name is sara and i had my out and am 30 and am on day 13 and i feel great a little pain but that it and am back to eat food and i feel great and i had tonlis stone so i got my out and i couldnt eat on the first 3 days cause it hurt so bad but now am eatting but it hurts a little but i still wont eat chips or anything that hard dont what to hurt it
I’m 39/female and had my tonsils removed because of reoccurring tonsilities 12x in one year. I recovered by day 10 but during the time period it was extremely excruciating for me to tolerate the agony of swallowing plus the ear pain along with it. Felt like at the same time razor cutting my throat and my right ear. The oxycodone only helped to put me to sleep and hoping I would avoid to swallow. Regardless I kept drinking water to stay as hydrated as possible. The pain was severe that I had to go to ER to numb my throat as I’ve been terrified to eat anything or even drink for that matter. The scabs have slough off a lot by day 14. If you plan to get tonsillectomy done be prepared for long hours of darkness. I did kept my mind busy by cleaning house even though the meds kept putting me to sleep I was able to avoid doing too much activity. I mostly ate oatmeal, applesauce, sorbet, breakfast carnation drink. I lost 8lbs from not being able to eat enough due to painful swallowing even with taking meds. Day 15 I can tolerate swallowing without meds but have slowly eating solid food into smaller bites. I hope this cures me from constantly getting sick every month. Good luck to everyone.
Thanks for sharing Gigi- take care!
It is quite disturbing and frightening to see mostly negative comments about peoples experiences for tonsillectomy recovery. I am 21 years old and I had my tonsils taken out because i had 3 very severe tonsillitis in 4 weeks. The first time my right tonsil created an abcsess,the pain was extreme i lost 9kg as i could barely drink water for 4 days. I was alone in UK as i am an undergraduate student and my parents flew from home to see what’s happening as i couldnt talk for 3-4 days,i coulndt swallow the antibiotics so i was hospitalised for 2 nights with intravenus antibiotics which made me a lot better. I am telling this story because the pain i felt for 4 days from the abscess is way worse compared to the tonsillectomy pain.
I am in day 6 post op. I am recovering smoothly with pain peaking to 5 out of 10 and going from 2-3 out of 10 during the recovery. Even though day 1 and 2 were a bit difficult due to the recovery of the anesthesia i could eat and drink with not so many difficulties,not what i expected to be. The doctor said to me that day 5 will be the worst but i guess he was wrong. I keep getting better but i believe 10-14 days will be the perfect recovery period. I don’t really think i am an exception but on the other hand i got used to the pain as the abcsess gave me 7-9 out of 10 pain.
Keep going strong,drink and eat as it will help in the healing.
Thanks Minos- It’s great to hear a story that’s not so bad. I’ve often wondered if those with the toughest recoveries are more apt to write. Mine was brutal and I created an entire website! lol. Take care!
I am now on day 8 post op, having had my tonsillectomy done in a private hospital in Australia.
I have been eating normally since day 1 (as instructed by Specialist) & drinking at least 2 litres of water a day. Eating is still a struggle but worth the pain as i feel much stronger & generally quite well. I was only taking Panadol for pain until day 6 & have taken nothing since.
As a mother i have been doing the school run, cooking, cleaning as normal since day 2.
The worst part for me has been lack of sleep due to waking regularly to drink. And loosing my voice completely for the first 5 days – it has returned now but still croaky & sore if i talk too much!
Planning to be back to work on Monday (day 10).
All in all the pain & suffering will be worth it to never have to suffer tonsillitis as regularly as i have done.
Hope this helps!